By Rori Bennett- Junior Reporter
The annual Dr. Jack Parry Award winners were announced on Thursday, June 4, 2020.
Although there was no award ceremony this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s award winners were still recognized.
This year’s recipients were Camille Blain, an 18-year-old student graduating from Chatham-Kent Secondary School and 17-year-old Brady Grubb, graduating from Lambton-Kent Composite School in Dresden.
“I’m very honoured to receive the award first of all,” Grubb told the Sydenham Current.
“I’m also proud that all my hard work and the help I’ve received was recognized. The Jack Parry award is about high academics, athletics, and volunteer work. I have a 97% average this year, have played and excelled at a variety of sports, and do a lot of volunteer work. Most recently as a zone leader for the May 16th Miracle.”
Both Blain and Grubb’s schools recognized the winners on social media:
Congratulations to the 2020 Jack Parry Female Recipent Camille Blain pic.twitter.com/B9LcYmR6fz
— CKSS Hawks (@CKSSHawks) June 5, 2020
Congratulations to LKCS’ Brady Grubb, 2020 male recipient of the Jack Parry Award. Onward and upward for this Cardinal! pic.twitter.com/pC8dxyHyKL
— LKCS Principal (@LKCSPrincipal) June 6, 2020
The Jack Parry award was first presented in 1984 in recognition of Dr. Parry, an anesthetist in Chatham-Kent.
He received numerous honors throughout his life, from the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in the Second World War, to his part on the 1942 Grey Cup winning team with the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes.
Additionally, Dr. Parry was a member of the 1948 Canadian Olympic track and field team. However, he was unable to compete due to an injury.
Dr. Parry was inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame and Western University’s W Club Hall of Fame.
Grubb said he has been playing sports since he was four-years-old.
“Mostly just golf and baseball until Grade 7/8 where I played basketball, volleyball, and soccer,” he said.
“In high school I played baseball, curling, cross country, basketball, volleyball, golf, badminton and soccer. I was planning on doing track and field this year also. I’ve played baseball every summer since I was four, out of school.”
The awards go to the top male and female graduating high school student-athletes in Chatham-Kent.
“Schools pick the nominees to represent them so I did know about the nomination, Grubb said.
Each school within Chatham-Kent has the opportunity to nominate one male and one female student to receive the awards.
This year, there were 17 students nominated for the award.
The winners each receive a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the Parry family.
“My plans are to go to the University of Guelph for environmental engineering next fall,” he said, adding that he wanted to express his heartfelt thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to his parents, grandparents, teachers and coaches who all helped him achieve his goals.
